Problems, Need I Say More?
by psychedout9
Summary: 21 years after the events of Scorpia Rising Alex has a new life. Too bad his old one may just come back to haunt him and his family.Scorpia Rising spoilers in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, this is only my second fanfic and my first for Alex Rider so let me know what you think. The first chapter may be more boring because it sets the scene.**

**Disclaimer: Well, first off I'm a girl, secondly I'm american and thirdly I'm not Anthony Horowitz so I obviously don't own Alex Rider. Though I do own my OC's. **

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><p>Jack shouldered his backpack and followed the flood of students exiting the school, anxious to start their weekend. It was June and the bright sun seemed to outline his surroundings. He swung his leg over his trusty bike and began pedaling towards home. He stored his bike in the shed behind his two story colonial home. He hopped up the porch steps and entered his open yet cozy, home. It was quiet, as his parents were still at work, so he dumped his backpack and headed upstairs to his room.<p>

After a few hours of lounging about he decided to start his homework, so as to look as though he was being productive when his parents got home. He was sitting at the kitchen counter attempting to unscramble a particularly complex algebra problem when his mother walked in, her long brown hair swaying in its ponytail. She was wearing her usual black suit that fit her flawlessly and a small smile lit up her beautiful face. "Am I supposed to believe you've been working on homework this whole time? Nice try, kiddo." Jack grinned at her, "It was worth a shot." She put her elbows on the countertop opposite Jack and leaned forward, "So, how was school." Jack grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl resting on the counter next to him and took a bite, "Oh, you know, the usual boredom, but I got an A on my math test." She smiled at him, "You obviously got your mathematic skill from your dad; I'm hopeless." Jack's grin widened and he waited a bit before saying, "Oh, sorry, is this the part where I'm supposed to disagree? My bad." His mom halfheartedly smacked him upside the head and then ruffled his dirty blonde hair as she passed. "Hey!" he cried indignantly. By this time she had reached the stairs, and turned to look at him and laugh. "Deal with it," and with that she exited the room.

Half an hour later Jack slammed his textbook shut with a look of triumph on his face, "Done." He heard the door open and close, bringing with it a smell that was a mixture of smoke and something indefinable that Jack had come to associate with his dad. A moment later the man himself appeared in the doorway. People always told Jack how much he looked like his dad, with the wavy blonde hair, seemingly permanent tan and sharply defined face. The only differences were Jack's bright blue eyes and short statue (though as he was only 13 he was crossing his fingers for a growth spurt), courtesy of his mother. "Hey buddy, watcha doing?" his dad asked. "Nothing right now." His father grinned mischievously, "Well, we'll just have to fix that won't we?" Suddenly a slender arm snaked its way around hi dad's waist. "Oh no, you don't. The last time you guys were bored you almost blew up the house," came a feminine voice as his mother made her appearance. Jack began to protest, "It was only a small fire and it was his fault!" pointing his finger accusingly at his father who muttered, "Way to throw me under the bus." His mother just laughed, "Well, I guess now we know why he became a firefighter," she joked. "So he could put out his own messes." His dad looked down at her, "Well, that's why you love me, right?" She looked right back at him and said, "Now, what gave you that idea?" a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "This," he replied and proceeded to kiss her passionately. "Oi! Get a room!" Jack yelled. His parents resurfaced and his dad just grinned, "In case you've forgotten, I've already got a whole house." Jack grumbled, "I'm officially scarred for life."

The next day was Saturday so by the time Jack walked downstairs, fully dressed, it was almost 11:00. He entered the kitchen to find his dad seated at the table, staring at a piece of paper intently. His brow was furrowed and he was frowning, deep in thought. Jack opened the fridge door got out the milk and grabbed cereal from the cupboard before speaking, "Where's mom?" His dad jerked his head up, his serious brown eyes looking miles away. "Oh," he said distractedly. "Some newbie messed up on an article, your mom had to go in and fix it." Jack winced sympathetically; Jack's mom was could be scary when she was in her no-nonsense journalist mode. That poor newbie was probably cowering in fear, despite her lack of height. "Okay, I'm going to meet Will, Todd and Jessie at the park for some soccer." Jack loved the sport and was quite good at it, another skill inherited from his father. His dad's frown deepened and his eyes looked wary, as if he was battling with himself. "Ok, but take your cell phone and call me immediately if anything happens." Jack looked at his father a bit concerned, what did he think was going to happen? Jack brushed the thought away and simply replied, "Sure, see ya dad." Then

The sun beat down upon the suburbs just outside LA where Jack lived. As he pedaled down the street Jack felt an uneasy pickle run through the hair on the back of his neck. He turned around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. When he refocused his attention in front of him he saw a long, jacked piece of wood that he swore had not been there before lying in the road. In an effort to avoid it Jack swerved his bike to the left only to have his front tire meet the curb. He could only think_, this is gonna hurt_, before he smashed into first a tree and then the ground. Jack Rider's whole world shuddered and the color fled, leaving him with only black.

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><p><strong>Well, first chapter down, let me know what you think! Also, Jack is an OC, just in case you didn't catch on to the fact that he's a guy and not a perky redheaded women...<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, this chapter is wicked long and I felt really crappy when I was typing it so some reviews would be nice:)****Thanks a bunch to everyone who has already, you guys are great.**

**Disclaimer: It would be pretty nice if I owned Alex Rider but unfortunately Anthony Horowitz is still refusing to give me the rights:(**

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><p>When Jack started to regain consciousness he felt as if someone had taken a hammer to his body in an attempt to break him into small pieces. He opened his eyes and a small groan escaped his lips. He began to sit up from where he was carelessly sprawled on the cement floor. He leaned against the wall and began to take in the view. It was not a pleasant one. He'd been stuffed into a room that was barely equaled his parents (mostly mom's) walk-in-closet in size. The walls were a filthy brown color they surely hadn't been originally. There was a small tin bucket in the corner from which such an awful stench was emanating Jacks eyes began to water. Then Jack spotted the water and stale bread by the door and scrambled towards it, ignoring his aching body's loud protests. Almost immediately after he finished eating the door to his cell opened, making him suspect he was being watched. A man entered the room, flanked by two others. He was extremely tall, about 6'4, with ash brown hair and a wide set mouth that was currently twisted into a cruel grin. "Well, well, how are you enjoying your stay Mr. Rider?" he asked patronizingly in a deep, booming voice. Jack swallowed his terror (and his sarcastic comment) and asked bluntly, "What do you want with me?" The man's cruel smile grew," Ah, I'll tell you when I have the desire to. But for now I'm going to introduce you to some old friends of your father's." He signaled at his two henchmen who gripped Jack by the arms and dragged him out the door. At this point jack was too confused and though he may not admit it, curious to even think of using any of the martial arts from the classes he'd begged his dad for. They reached a steel door, same as the others, opened it and chucked him into a cell slightly larger than his previous one. The main difference was that this cell was already occupied. Jack tripped as he was pushed and ended up with his face to the floor. Ouch, he muttered and rolled over. Then he heard a surprised exclamation of "Cub!"<p>

Jack looked over at the announcement and examined his four cellmates. The man who yelled out was rather large and muscular and appeared to be in his early forties, as did the rest. He had a crop of short, sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to light up the room with mirth, though were now subdued due to the situation. The man next to him had a dark, oblong face surrounded by dark hair in the same cropped style. He slapped the blonde man upside the head," Eagle you idiot, that cant be Cub; hes like 11." Jack glared at him, affronted, "Im 13." A redheaded man on the other side of Eagle broke in calmly before anyone could retaliate, "You have to admit Wolf, he does look like him, but it's been along time, he'd be older now." The men looked appeased save for the last group member. He was a handsome man with hair almost dark enough to be black; his brown eyes were narrowed at Jack thoughtfully. "You're right Snake, Alex would be in his thirties by now. And I think he had brown eyes." The other men looked at him with varied degrees of shock on their face but didn't seem inclined to question him just yet. Jack just stared at them uncomprehendingly, "Well, when youre done deciding who I am..." he said slowly. The men's heads jerked towards him as though they'd forgotten he was there or had the ability to speak. The dark skinned man, Wolf, broke the silence, easily taking control. "Oh yeah well I'm Wolf, the blonde idiot is Eagle, redhead's Snake and that's Fox or Ben." He said pointing at the handsome man last. "Oh well I'm Jack." He said, unsure whether he should give his last name, especially since theyd all just given him the names of animals, except for Ben.

Ben was still giving Jack a piercing stare that was making him increasingly uncomfortable. "What's your last name?" he questioned. Jack hesitated before answering, "Rider, why?" Ben's eyes widened slightly in shock but he was the only one, every other person in the room was looking at him in confusion. "Rider. As in Alex Rider?" Jack looked at him, nonplussed. "Yeah he's my dad." This shock seemed too much for Ben too keep in, "Oh my fucking god!" Wolf stared at him, "Geez Ben, don't swear in front of the kid." He said gruffly, causing Jack to glare at him. Ben ignored him,"Wait, your dad's British, how come you have an American accent?" At this point Jack was far beyond lost, how long ago did these people know his dad? Did they really know him at all or was this a trick? If it was it seemed to working on the others as well as him, Ben seemed to be the only one lacking a bemused expression. "My mom's American." Jack said his tone as though asking a question. Taking in their expression Ben tore his gaze from Jack and addressed the other men, "I think that's Cub's son." In a second the men's faces switched from confusion to comprehension to shock and stayed there. Jack was the only one still trying to grasp the situation. "No freaking way!" Eagle yelled. Wolf shot him a glare as Ben spoke to Jack, "We're you dad's old unit." Far from clearing it up Jack was left with more questions, "Wait, so you guys are firefighters?" Wolf seemed to take this offensively for some reason, "No, were SAS, Britain's elite." He huffed. Eagle still looked excited, "Wait do you mean your dad's a firefighter?" At this pint Jack's brain was starting to pound against the inside of his skull, did or didn't these people know his father? "Yeah he was the youngest Fire Chief in California, ever."He said proudly.

At this point Eagle looked ready to burst with happiness, Ben was smiling and Snake's lips were twitching up at the corners, "So I guess coming to Brecon Beacons must have helped with that, his parents must have been proud." _What?_ Jack thought, "Are you sure you know my dad? His parents died when he was one and he's never mentioned a Brecon Beacons." All the men looked surprised, though Wolf and Ben less. Ben mostly looked sad, "Who raised him?" Jack was starting to get fed up with the questions but answered anyway, "His uncle Ian and housekeeper Jack. Ian died when he was 14, Jack when he was 15. After that he moved to LA to live with his friend, my Aunt Sabina, and her family." He explained quickly. "Now, why don't you answer some of my questions?" All men continued to look shell shocked so Jack pressed his advantage, "Who are you? What are you doing here? How do you know my dad?" There was silence before Wolf responded, "Well, like I said, were all SAS, except for that git, he's government." He started, pointing at Ben. "We were supposed to investigate, well really just Ben's backup, but obviously that didn't work out too well." Jack snorted. "As for your dad, he trained with us for two weeks." His dad never mentioned that, "Why?" Wolf just shrugged, "You'd have to ask him." Before Jack could question further the door to the cell opened and two guards walked in, their faces devoid of any emotion.

"We're here for the boy." One said with a grunt. Before the others could protest to the point of violence he had grabbed Jack's arm and hauled him from the room. The door slammed shut with an ominous bang as Jack was marched through the hallway. He was roughly shoved into yet another room that was occupied by the same tall, cruel-looking man who'd visited Jack before. He was sitting at a table with many sharp, gleaming objects that Jack tried to avoid looking at. He seemed perfectly at ease and that unnerving smile was once again on his face. "Please sit, how nice of you to join me." Jack thought it best not to argue, yet, and sat. Though not without an audible mutter of "Like I had a choice, psycho." The man heard and his smile widened, "A chip of the old block I see. I wasnt expecting any different." By this point Jack was starting to get annoyed, what was with all the people knowing his dad? "Why dont you just tell me what the hell you want!" he snapped. "Someone's touchy." The man replied, looking at him calmly. He put his elbows on the table and leaned towards Jack over the sickening objects. Jack sat back instinctively. "What I really want is revenge and you just happen to be my way to get it." He said gazing sharply at Jack who swallowed but refused to look away. "Take him back to the cell," he barked at the guards who once again dragged him by the arms, making resistance futile.

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><p><strong>And done! Like it, hate it? What about k unit? Please review and let me know!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is a lot shorter but it's also pretty crucial. Big thanks to pygmymeese who pointed out that having Wolf reveal Fox's name was a bit unbelievable, my thinking was that their captors already knew his name, he only told him Ben's first name and Jack's a kid anyway so he doesn't see him as too much of a threat. I also tried to fix the formatting a bit so let me know how I did!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Alex Rider I'd probably faint, and since I'm currently still conscious I obviously don't. I know, sad:( **

Back in the minimal comfort the cell provided Jack sat down heavily and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. Why did this have to happen to him? It was just his luck to be used as a pawn in some mad man's game.

Jack flinched when a soft hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Jack opened one eye and squinted at the figure, "Yeah, you know, just wallowing in self pity." He replied with a wave of his hand.

Ben flashed a smile that was almost a grimace, "I wish I could say 'It'll be okay' but I think your smart enough to realize I really don't know."

Jack grinned, "You could always lie."

This time a real smile graced Ben's face, "It'll be okay," he said with a sincere look.

Jack stared at him seriously, "Don't look now, but your pants are on fire."

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><p>Boredom. So far tat was the main enemy Jack had to contend with in captivity. Not that he was complaining; he shuddered to think what could be happening otherwise.<p>

On what Jack guessed was the third or fourth day an alarm broke through the relative quiet of their prison. Eagle and Snake, who had been quietly talking in a corner of the cell, shut up abruptly.

Everyone in the cell held their breath as they heard footsteps closing in.

Suddenly the door was opened and Jack, who had been sitting close to it, was grabbed. He let out a surprised yelp as he was forced into the hallway,and he froze as he felt metal kiss the skin on his throat. He could feel strong arms encaging him and he knew that, at this moment, there was no hope for escape.

He was faced towards the end of the hall, which was at this time deserted. Then he heard it, anxious footsteps making their way down the hall and his heart began to thump faster with slight hope. That hope exploded in a race of joy when he saw the owner of the footsteps.

Standing there, at the end of the hallway with the most terrifying expression Jack had ever seen and a cold, military issued gun, was his dad.

His captor spoke and Jack recognized the voice as that of the moan who'd promised revenge. "Not bad rider. I'm slightly impressed, but you are still out of practice."

His dad's face remained impassive and when he spoke it was in a tone he'd certainly never used with Jack. "Sorry," he apologized. "I changed my hobby from catching psychos to knitting about 20 years ago. It's a difficult skill, but I can still make you a killer scarf!"

His tone lost its mocking nature and became more aggressive; "Now back the hell away from my son before I make a pretty picture on the wall behind you with your brain matter."

Instead of backing away like Jack surely would have done at that point the man just chuckled. "You seem to be missing the key point, Mr. Rider. The time it takes the bullet to hit me is plenty enough to slit the poor boy's throat. I also have your old unit behind that very door." He said, jerking his head to indicate the cell.

His dad never took his eyes of the man's face, not even exhibiting any shock or curiosity on his own.

"So I advise you put that gun down and walk into the cell before I do something drastic." The man finished.

Still refusing to look away his dad slowly lowered the gun and placed it on the floor.

Jacks hopes plummeted, and yet he couldn't deny the inexpressible feeling of safety hed gained since his father's arrival.

His dad crossed the hall and put his hand behind him to grasp the handle and open the door. Once the man saw he'd backed far enough into the cell he walked forward and roughly shoved Jack in.

He had not been expecting it and would have lost his balance and fallen had it not been for his dad catching him and quickly pulling him into an embrace as the door snapped shut behind him.

Jack buried his head in his shoulder as his dad stroked his hair and whispered, "Hey buddy, I got you. It's going to be alright," and despite everything, this time Jack believed it.

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><p><strong>Tell me what you think about Alex joining our little party! Review! (or else)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter, sorry for the wait! Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited or put this on story alert, keep it up!**

**Disclaimer: I own Alex Rider. Yup, I can still lie, just making sure.**

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><p>Too soon his dad ended the comforting embrace and turned around to face their cellmates.<p>

Seeing the varied expressions of shock on their faces he grinned, "Hey guys, its been, what, 20 years? Did you miss me?"

He stretched out his hand mockingly, "Let me introduce myself, I'm Alex Rider and this definitely wasn't part of my plan."

Ben regained himself first, "Well, I sure hope not because this more than kinda sucks."

Eagle, who still appeared to be in shock, spoke up, "You look so old." He said with a blank stare.

Jack watched as his dad grinned and said, "So do you. Aren't you already passed retirement age?"

Jack snorted at the offended look on Eagle's face, drawing said person's attention. "Who do you think youre laughing at kid?"

Jack, refusing to be intimidated by the large soldier simply said, "You."

At this statement Ben burst out laughing along with Snake and his dad put up a hand for a high five, "Nice one."

Even Wolf looked as though he was fighting a grin at the fact that Eagle had just been bested by a 13 year old.

For an SAS soldier Eagle pulled off the look of a pouting child with ease as he sank to the ground and crossed his arms with a "humph."

They all sat on the ground with him and Wolf attempted to start an interro-conversation. "So," he asked Alex, "How long have you been married?"

Alex looked at him slyly and raised an eyebrow, "Who said I'm married?" he questioned.

Wolf looked pointedly at Jack.

"So?"

Wolf looked slightly flustered, "Oh um, never mind, sorry." He continued to look awkward as Alex stared at him unfazed.

Finally, when Alex thought hed had enough, he answered, "About 14 years." He said, cutting of Wolf's stammers with a crooked grin.

Ben, taking pity on Wolf asked, "How did you two meet?" sounding genuinely curious.

Jack answered for his father, "Oh, dad rescued her from a burning building," he grinned mischievously, "Technically she was trespassing on private property."

Eagle started talking excitedly, "Oh, a nosey one, eh? Is she hot?"

Jack looked disgusted, "Excuse me? That's my mom you're talking about!"

His dad leaned forward and said lightly, "It's ok Jack. Years of kissing his pillow at night has made Eagle very lonely, pity him."

Wolf grunted, "Eagle, keep your thoughts off other peoples' wives, especially since you've never even met her!"

Eagle frowned but dropped it, Snake rolled his eyes, Ben shook his head in exasperation and Alex and Jack were grinning so identically that Wolf looked a little unnerved.

Ben, shooting a look at Eagle, attempted to restart the conversation, "So, what does she do for work? We've heard you're LA Fire Chief." He said, smiling proudly at Alex, who replied, "Oh, She's a journalist. I called in sick and left her a note."

Jack assumed a solemn look and put a hand on his father's arm in mock comfort, "When she kills you, what type of flowers do you want at your funeral?"

Alex looked at him thoughtfully, "Hm I'm rather partial to lilies, what do you think?"

Snake interrupted before Jack could answer, "Wow, you guys really are related."

They both looked at him and said, "No way." Simultaneously.

Alex continued, "I thought it was Eagle who always pointed out the obvious."

Eagle stopped staring at them to yell, "Hey!" indignantly.

These odd interactions were interrupted when the cell door banged open sharply.

Everyone in the room jumped except Alex who seemed to have expected it.

He stood up calmly, subtly positioning himself in front of Jack. "Back already? Can't say I missed you sorry." He said sweetly.

The guard seemed unwilling to chat, "I'm supposed to get both Riders."

Alex answered as though to a small child, "Here's how it's going to work; you leave him here or I'll punch your nose in so far it lodges in your brain."

A familiar voice cut in, "I don't think you're in the position to make threats, Mr. Rider."

The leader entered the room backed by six men holding formidable guns.

Jack saw his dad's body go taunt and around him the unit slowly stood up.

Jack's breathing started to speed up,_ what were they all doing? Those guards had guns; unfortunately they did not._

Before the air around them exploded from tension Jack anxiously hurried passed his father towards the guards.

When he turned around his father's face looked emotionless but Jack could see the shock and anxiety in his serious brown eyes.

Jack's arm was grabbed by one of the guards, holding him in place. "I'll go, just leave them alone," he said quietly but steadily addressing the leader.

His dad raised his hands in surrender and took a step forward, "Well, then I'm going too." He said. To K-unit he said, "Have fun twiddling your thumbs and braiding your hair or whatever it is you guys do."

The leader was smiling, "Very sweet, now lets go have some fun!"

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><p>Jack and Alex were led down a labyrinth of scummy hallways. Jack sucked in a desperate breath as they stopped in front of an impenetrable steel door. He shot a glance at his father whose face softened a bit but jaw tensed as he returned the gaze.<p>

The door was opened and Jack thought his heart would speed right out of his chest.

The room was filthy. The walls were damp and seemed to be oozing dark slime. The original floor was useable for it now had a thick coating of dried blood. The furniture in the room consisted of a long, rickety table and two wooden chairs set facing each other.

What worried Jack most were the bloody manacles hanging from the sides of the chairs, excitedly waiting to be used.

Jack barely restrained from hyperventilating as he was forcibly placed in one of the chairs and the chains were snapped onto his wrist. His dad was sitting motionlessly across from him, a steely look on his face.

The leader was handed a black bag from one of the guards and placed it on the table lovingly. He unzipped it and began pulling sharp objects from its depths that Jack didn't want to focus on, chatting idly as he worked, "We haven't been properly introduced have we, Mr. Rider? My name would be Bratislav Kurst. You thought you were done with Scorpia? Scorpia never forgives, Scorpia never forgets." Alex seemed unperturbed by this declaration; "You do realize you have the word brat in your name, right?"

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><p><strong>Well, everyone excited for some torture next chapter! I'm also thinking of doing Jack's mom's POV at some point. <strong>

**Not sure how I feel about this chapter so reviews would be much appreciated! **


	5. Chapter 5

**New chapter, thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are great! A VERY special thanks to ARfanfictionlover1 who got me to stop my stinking procrastinating and actually write this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: First of all, I'm not British. I'm also a girl so I obviously am not Anthony Horowitz and therefore don't own Alex Rider.**

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><p><em>My name would be Bratislav Kurst. You thought you were done with Scorpia? Scorpia never forgives, Scorpia never forgets." Alex seemed unperturbed by this declaration; "You do realize you have the word brat in your name, right?"<em>

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><p>Jack's mind was spinning, what was Scorpia?<p>

He could see the look of comprehension dawning on his dad's face before Alex spoke, "Geez you guys breed like bloody cockroaches under a rock. Who's next? What, did Rothman have some worthless kid too? Let me put this in the simplest terms possible. Alex and Scorpia play game. Alex win. Scorpia lose. Game over."

Kurst sneered, "This game is far from over. Some might even say its just begun."

Jack shrank back a bit as Kurst addressed him with a smile, "Don't worry Jackie, for today you're just going to watch and see how long it takes me to make your daddy squeal like a school girl."

Instead of the terror that was certainly showing on Jack's face his father looked almost relieved.

Panic began to fill his head as Kurst picked up a small but deadly knife and leisurely walked towards Alex, placing the tip on his chest.

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><p><strong>Sarah POV<strong>

Sarah raised her hands in defeat, surrendering to the multiple guns aimed at her from all sides. "This was definitely not my plan." She muttered.

**Approximately 14 hours earlier**

_Sarah was welcomed home by silence. "Boys?" she called. She looked down at her watch, 10:30. Maybe Jack was sleeping over a friend's house, but where was Alex?_

_ She sighed; he had probably been called into the station. _

_She trudged up the stairs and changed for bed. Her day had been exhausting, why did everything have to fall apart the second she wasn't there? Surely she wasnt the only one capable of doing the job, right? She slipped into bed and shut her eyes, falling asleep to dead silence._

_Sarah opened her eyes to bright sunlight. She closed them again and rolled over, flinging her arm across the bed as she did so. She frowned, something was missing; usually when she did this Alex grunted and mumbled some complaint about spousal abuse. _

_Still too lazy to open her eyes she felt her hand around the area her husband's chest would normally be. _

_Noticing that the only thing there was the covers, which were in the same position as when she went to sleep her eyes snapped open._

_ Empty. Nothing there._

_ Her eyes searched the room but everything was arranged exactly the way it had been the night before._

_ Her frown became more pronounced._

_ Had he slept at the station? He had'nt stayed over in years, preferring to come home and sleep._

_ Sarah's curiosity grew; she climbed out of bed and made her way downstairs. _

_The morning sunlight was dripping through the windows like dew, lightly bathing everything in gold. She entered the kitchen and looked around. There lying on the kitchen counter was a note on crisp white paper. Sarah picked it up and read:_

**_ Jack in trouble, gone to get him._**

**_ Love, Alex_**

_Scribbled across the page in her husband's hasty scrawl. _

_She froze, what kind of trouble? _

_She knew all about Alex's past with MI6, he had told her before they got married. She had taken the chance that it all might just come back to haunt him one day. _

_Her heart tightened in her chest, what if Jack had been kidnapped? Knowing her idiot of a husband he went after him all by himself. _

_She tried to calm herself, the note was vague, it could be anything. She was just overreacting. _

_She methodically began searching the kitchen since it was probably the last room her husband had been in. She found nothing in any of the cabinets and was about to move on when she decided to check under the kitchen table on a hunch. _

_She knocked on the underside of the table until she reached a piece that lifted up. She slid it out of the way and reached her hands into the newly made hole. _

_She felt papers and her hand dragged them out. _

_She picked up the mess of papers and began going through them. _

_She glanced at what was obviously a ransom note, except she knew the ransom wasnt money; it was her husband. _

_She passed over the sickening note typed in loopy cursive font. _

_Instead she focused on the blueprints of the building mentioned in the note that she knew her husband most likely did not obtain legally. It was an old science facility that had now obviously been converted into something much more sinister. _

_Her worst fears confirmed she headed upstairs, walking purposefully._

_ She averted her eyes as she walked by Jack's room, she could'nt afford to lose control; her boys needed her._

_ She barged into her husband's small office and headed toward the small bookshelf. _

_She pulled out a large, hardcover copy of **War and Peace** that had never actually been read. _

_She thought of all the people who had died before Alex's war with MI6 came to an end and felt a surge of hatred toward the people who had disrupted the peace hed gained since. _

_Sarah looked at the top of the pages, searching for the one page that was slightly thicker than the others. _

_She found it and slid her nail over the top, revealing that the page acted as a sort of pouch. _

_She reached in a finger and extracted a small note card. _

_The card was empty except for a long string of numbers, there were no dashes and nothing hinting to what they were for, but Sarah knew. _

_She hurriedly raced to Alex's desk and picked up the phone. She punched in the numbers, making sure she was precise._

_ The line rang once before it was picked up, "Hello?" a serious voice on the other end questioned. _

_"Good morning Mrs. Jones, this is Sarah Rider."_

(A/N: Almost ended there but I figured we needed some more Alex and Jack!)

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><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

Jack winced the knife was brought down but all it did was cut through the fabric of his dad's shirt.

Kurst continued to cut away the material until there was nothing left but a pile of cloth of the floor.

Jack looked at his father's scarred chest, realizing for the first time that the puckered skin right above the heart looked suspiciously like a bullet wound.

Why had he never thought to ask his dad about it?

He'd always figured the scars were routine for someone who constantly entered dangerous, flaming, buildings.

Jack seemed to gain a new sense of sick irony as he realized what Kurst was doing at the preparation table.

In his right hand he was holding a blowtorch and heating up the shorter end of the L-shaped tire iron in his left.

He was going to burn the fireman.

As this hit him he refocused his attention on his father, though still watching Kurst out of the corner of his eye.

His father looked perfectly calm, as though getting tortured was an everyday occurrence he now found a bit tiresome.

When the iron was heated to what Kurst deemed an appropriate temperature he walked over and stood before Alex, cheating out slightly so Jack could still have a view of his father.

Smiling Kurst thrust the end onto Alex's bare chest, and left it there.

There was a sickening sizzle of burning flesh that would have made Jack vomit if hed had anything more substantial than stale bread in his stomach.

His father's face was set in a grim expression but he was not making any noise aside from low and steady breaths.

His serious brown eyes were boring into Jack's, trying to convey comfort.

Jack's mind was muddled. His dad was the one being tortured, not Jack.

Jack should be comforting him, not the other way around!

Alex had a fleeting seconds release as the iron was lifted before the tip was placed at the end of his diagonal burn line, a new vertical line being seared into his skin.

Jack was noticed how precise and purposeful Kurst was in his movements. He had a hunch that there was something more then was obvious at the moment.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out was to wait.

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><p><strong>I kind of liked this chapter. So, what did you all think of Sarah's POV, this is the first time in the story it's switched from Jack's. <strong>

**I'm definitely not too proud to beg for reviews! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the wait, I'm currently working on two stories so I try to switch between writing them. If you like the show Psych check out my other one!**

**But anyway, sorry for the long break I'll try to update faster next time. Your reviews really make me kick my butt into gear, so keep them coming!**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Alex Rider. If I did the series would continue forever and ever and ever...and since it's done, obviously not.**

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><p><em><strong>Sarah POV<strong>_

_**About 4 hours earlier**_

_Sarah hung up the phone, glad that conversation was over. _

_She may need help but talking to Mrs. Jones for long periods of time had never been on her To-Do list._

_ Did Mrs. Jones really thing she would be happy to sit tight and let MI6 come to the rescue?__Alex had told her all about MI6 and she knew they tended to arrive to these shindigs a tad late._

_Sarah plopped down in Alex's leather chair and began examining the building schematics. Focusing mostly on helpful air shafts she could squeeze through. The building couldn't be too well protected from the outside, at least visibly, because it really wasn't that secluded. _

_Sarah grabbed the papers and exited her house, figuring she'd make more plans on the way._

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><p><em><strong>About 45 minutes earlier<strong>_

_Sarah stared at the low chain link fence guarding a seemingly empty building. _

_The area around her was completely deserted, and it was making her more nervous than if they had a hundred guards keeping watch. Were they so confident in their security they felt they didn't need to, or was there something she was missing?_

_ She wished Alex were here, she was sure Mr. Super Spy would know exactly what was going on. _

_She sighed, well the only way to find out was to try. _

_She awkwardly climbed up the fence and went over the top, wincing slightly at the sharp spikes digging into her skin._

_ Taking out the blueprints she spotted a grate connecting to a ventilation shaft on the side of the building that was her ticket inside and stealthily made her way to it._

_ Taking the small bottle of acne cream from her pocket, a keepsake of Alex's, she dabbed a bit on each hinge and watched it erode the metal with a soft hiss. The small, square opening left behind was about as tall as her chest and she reached her arms in struggling to pull herself in. After a few tries Sarah managed to utilize all of her upper body strength and get the top half of her body into the unconventional passage.__She then shimmied the rest of her body in and began crawling through the air duct. _

_The shaft seemed to be endless with interconnecting shafts running off to the sides. __She almost retrieved the blueprints again before she remembered that she had no clue where her husband and son were. _

_She trudged on, trying to be as quiet as possible, using her elbows and knees for leverage. _

_She passed right over the heads of several guards and stifled a laugh, keep up the great work guys! She thought sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, they didn't even realize an intruder was right above them._

_ Suddenly the shaft made a loud creaking sound and collapsed beneath her._

_ She hit the floor hard, metal material flying down around her in it's own personal hurricane._

_ She groaned in pain; jinxed by her own thoughts, that was a new one. She rolled over to look at the guards who had finally noticed her presence. _

_Sarah raised her hands in defeat, surrendering to the multiple guns aimed at her from all sides. "This was definitely not my plan." she muttered._

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><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

The door opened and the whole group stood up, K-unit positioning them selves in front of Jack as Alex moved to stand in direct line of sight of the door.

Alex seemed to immediately recognized the person in the doorway and relaxed his fighting stance, which turned out to be his downfall…literally.

"Jesus, this is spousal abuse." He complained from the floor.

Sarah, who was lying on top of him replied, "Alexander John Rider, you moron! If you ever do that again I'll kill you." She said angrily and then proceeded to start kissing him passionately until there was an exclamation of, "Ew, Mom, you're burning my eyes!"

Sarah immediately pushed herself off her husband and ran to Jack who'd pushed to the front of the K-unit, "Oh, Jackie!" She yelled, hugging Jack tightly.

Eagle snorted at the nickname and was unfortunately heard by Sarah.

"Who do you think you're laughing at big guy? I'll have my husband kick your ass while I sit and watch."

Eagle gulped audibly.

Sarah released Jack and K-unit got their first look at her.

Her hair was a whirlwind of brown, framing her prettily angled face and bright blue eyes that matched Jack's. She had obviously been in a hurry because she was still wearing her black yoga pants and an old t-shirt of his dad's.

Eagle whistled, "Wow Cub, she's totally out of your league."he said, very obviously eyeing her curves.

Sarah glared at him, "Are you insinuating that my husband isn't hot enough for me?" she said in a dangerous tone.

Said man came behind her and wrapped an arm around her waste, "Yeah Eagle. Don't you think I'm hot?' he said in a teasing tone.

Jack and Ben began laughing at the uncomfortable look on Eagle's face, Snake was grinning and Wolf looked perpetually grumpy as usual.

"Uh…"

Alex cut across Eagle, "K-unit,for those of you too stupid to guess this is my wife Sarah, Sarah, K-unit."

Sarah turned to him, "Wait, K-unit as in the unit you trained with for two weeks?"

"Yup" Alex replied, popping the p, looking mischievous for some reason.

Sarah smiled sweetly, "Oh well then it's nice to meet you. Now I finally have the chance to kick all of your butts in person! You people are the saddest excuses for military personnel I have ever met! Seriously, jealous of a 14 year old school boy? Get over it! I don't know how you live with yourselves. I mean 'Double O' Nothing? What kind of nickname is that? Your level of intelligence must barely rival that of a preschoolers! " She ranted.

While Jack enjoyed watching his mom yell at someone else for a change he was now back to his earlier state of confusion.

What did she mean jealous of a 14 year old? Was he the only one who wasn't told this big secret? He sighed, frustrated.

All of the men were cowering slightly.

Terrorists? Sure.

Jack's angry mother?

Now we have a problem.

Jack watched his dad who seemed extremely amused, trying to avoid looking at his bare chest. His father didn't look like he noticed it but Jack was sure he had to be in pain.

How could he not be when he'd just had his bare flesh burned?

He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to erase the memories, but the word 'traitor' was burnt as permanently in his mind as it was on his father's skin.

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><p><strong>Another chapter done, WOOHOO! Anyway, thanks again ARfanfictionlover1, I already had her yelling at them but I added in a small thing about 'Double O' Nothing.' Pretty please review?I love your comments and suggestions so keep them coming! Hint: next chapter will involve handcuffs, but probably not in the way you think. Any guesses?<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for not updating, I would explain more but my power keeps going out and I really wanted to post this first.**

**I don't own AR**

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><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

The conversation had quieted down to a comfortable silence.

They were all waiting for the next thing to happen, and dreading what would.

The Riders took up one corner of the cell. Jack's father was leaning against the wall, his legs spread out before him. His mother was using them as a pillow, being careful not to brush against his burnt chest.

She rolled over and mumbled, "Well honey, I have to say, you're the comfiest traitor ever."

Alex rolled his eyes and Jack snorted lightly and a bit of the tense atmosphere seemed to float away from them.

Jack, who was sitting on the other side of his father, laid his head on his shoulder.

"What am I a pillow?" his dad complained. "Nice to know what you guys keep me around for."

"Oh, suck it up and deal with it." Jack responded sleepily.  
>His dad extracted his arm and replaced it across Jack's shoulders, squeezing his arm comfortingly." I guess I deserved that. Well, at least we know your mum didn't cheat on me; you obviously have my attitude, and striking good looks of course." He said teasingly.<p>

There was a sudden noise and an "Ouch" from Alex as his wife hit him on the shin, not even bothering to open her eyes. "I heard that." She mumbled into the fabric of his jeans.

Jack vaguely heard his dad's protest of "Spousal abuse," before sleep fogged his senses.

I want answers, dad."

"Answers are usually preceded by questions." came the calm reply.

Jack sighed, hoping his dad wouldn't make this too difficult.

They were in the same positions as before except Jack's mom had rolled over and was now staring at the ceiling, apparently lost in thought. "Just tell him Blondie."

Alex looked down at her and they seemed to hold a silent conversation before he nodded curtly, admitting defeat.

"You guys might as well come over here too. I know you're listening. So, story time it is." He said with a sigh. K-unit looked slightly sheepish at being caught eavesdropping but hurried over anyway.

"Well, I guess you could say this all started when my parents died in a plane crash when I was about a year old."

Snake and Eagle shared a look before Eagle voiced their question, "Wait, if you didn't have some rich daddy how'd you end up at Brecon Beacons?"

Wolf hit him upside the head, "Maybe if you let him tell the story you prat we'd find out."

Alex shot them both a death glare and Jack followed his lead, wanting to finally learn about his dad's past.

"Anyway," Alex continued, with another glare at Eagle for good measure. "I was raised by my uncle, Ian, who was a banker."

His dad's wry expression made Jack certain there was more to that story.

"He was never really around, always away on business trips, so when I was about seven her hired Jack."

Jack started, he'd never realized he had a namesake.

"She was a law student. An American with bright red hair and the attitude to match it."

His dad was wearing a small, sad, smile on his face, lost in his reminiscing.

"Wait, you named your son after a woman?"

This comment came from Snake who was looking at Alex a bit weirdly.

"Yeah, she was amazing."

The way he said it, filled with heartbreaking, painful, longing made Jack wonder if she died of natural causes.

"From then on she practically raised me. She was kind of like my big sister."

He paused.

"When I was 14 my uncle died from a supposed car crash."

Wolf groaned, "This is starting to sound like a soap opera." he complained, breaking the tense moment.

Eagle grinned, "How would you know Wolf? Something you want to share with the group?"

Wolf punched him on the arm and indicated for Alex to continue.

"Something didn't feel right about his death so I decided to investigate."

"Of course you did." Ben muttered.

Jack was beginning to feel a bit apprehensive; he had a feeling things were going to get worse before they got better.

"When I found his car it was riddled with bullet holes."

Jack surpressed a gasp and everyone besides his mom looked surprised.

"For those of you who can't figure it out," Alex said with a pointed look at Eagle. "That means he was probably not a banker," he explained as though to a third grader.

"Oh shut up, Cub." Eagle said with a glare.

"When I was inevitably called to the Royal and General Bank," he shared a significant look with Ben. "They left me alone in the office next to Ian's, so naturally I jumped to the flagpole outside and over to Ian's window."

At this point everyone besides Sarah, who's only reaction was to turn over and make herself more comfortable, was staring at Alex. Ben was shaking his head in exasperation and Eagle mumbled, "Crazy."

"That was pretty much what 'they' were looking for," he continued with a shrug. "They tranq'd me and I woke up at Brecon Beacons. There I met you lot after a lovely chat with the head of MI6 who blackmailed me into finishing one of Ian's, who was apparently a spy, missions."

Here Alex was interrupted by Wolf, "Wait, what'd they blackmail you with?" he asked gruffly.

"Pretty much if I didn't they would've deported Jack, who had become my guardian, and send me to some crappy orphanage."

Only Jack heard what he added, "It might have been better if they had."

Jack looked at him, confused, but his father had already continued over the rest of the men's outrage. "I trained with you guys for two weeks, kicked Wolf's arse out of a plane,"he added with a grin. "And was shipped off to my first mission. You guys remember the Stormbreaker?" They all looked at him blankly except Eagle, ever the tech guy, said "Weren't they those computers that were donated to all the schools years back? They were recalled because of some glitch."

The others dawned looks of comprehension besides Jack who hadn't been born yet.

Alex grinned wryly, "Yeah, the 'glitch' was that they were filled with a deadly virus. I went undercover, had a nice meet and greet with a Man of War, a Russian assassin and parachuted through the ceiling of the science museum, accidentally shooting the Prime Minister but effectively stopping the wacko from killing thousands of school children."

Jack's mind was filled with a constant rotation of 'what?' This couldn't be possible, but his mother didn't look surprised and his dad's expression was so bitter he knew it wasn't a lie.

"That mission was when I first met Yassen Gregorovitch, the assassin who had killed Ian and then proceeded to kill Herod Sayle, who he had formerly been helping."

Jack choked, not wanting to think about how close to death his dad had been. Did he really want to know how many times his own exsistence was almost abolished right along with him? It didn't matter what he wanted, because he had to find out no matter what. "How'd you get away?"

His dad looked down at him, taking in Jack's rapt attention.

"Oh, he didn't try to kill me, he just told me to get out of the life. A kid stuck in an adult world." he said with a humorless chuckle.

"My next mission was Point Blanc where I ended up having a chance meeting with Wolfy here. Got him shot."

Everyone turned their attention to Wolf, Snake exclaiming, "Why didn't you tell us? You can't keep secrets like that from your unit!" Eagle nodded in consent but Ben looked slightly uncomfortable, though he hid it well.

"Moving on, my next mission was at Skeleton Key where I met a super nice shark and played with bombs."

No one laughed.

"Then there was Eagle Strike where I met your Aunt Sabina." he said, looking at Jack. "We were held hostage by a crazy pop singer aboard Air Force One."

At this point the story sounded just like that: a ridiculous story. Had anyone else been telling it Jack would have called them delusional. He was sure that Snake, Eagle and Wolf were thinking it anyway.

"I was saved by Yassen who, while dying, told me to go to Venice and find Scorpia. Like the nieve, 14 year old orphan that I was, I listened."

Jack knew that Scorpia was the name of their captors but it seemed to mean even more to the men, who's eyes had grown wide.

"I was told, and given 'proof', that my dad was a Scorpia assassin."

By this time everyone's eyes looked ready to burst from their sockets.

Sarah, seemingly oblivious to the room's heightened atmosphere began humming "Here Comes the Sun" and the men looked at her increduously.

"It doesn't bother you that your father-in-law was an assassin?" Snake questioned dubiously.

She grinned, "Nope, wish I could've met him though. He sounds like a great guy."

Alex chuckled.

Jack was getting impatient, "Okay, chop chop, on with the story."

Alex looked at him amusedly before saying, "Well, someone didn't get their daily fiber."

Jack sighed exasperatedly and his dad took pity on him, "I joined them and then defected, stopping their dastardly plot. After that was when MI6 decided to inform me that my father was not a traitor but a double agent. Another spy in the family."

Eagle stopped shooting Sarah weird looks.

"My next mission ended in me going up to space and crash landing in Austrailia on the way back down."

Wolf growled, "What idiot lets a 14 year old up in space."

Alex grinned but it was somewhat of a grimace, "That would be your government."

The men all frowned unhappily.

"I met with the ASIS while I was on their soil and agreed to do a mission because it was with my godfather, who I didn't even know existed. Turns out he was a traitor who worked for Scorpia." He hesitated. "His initiation was to plant a bomb in my parents plane. Ben shot him."

Ben looked equally surprised as the others.

" I killed your godfather?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"Yeah, but like I said he killed my parents, so it's fine."

Ben looked like he wanted to protest more but Alex cut him off, "I'm almost done. On my second to last mission I stopped Desmond McCain down in Africa."

He took a deep breath, "On my last ever mission I met up with Scorpia once again. It really was supposed to be a simple-"

He was cut off by the cell door opening to reveal a plain, overlarge guard.

"I need all the Riders to come with me."

"Sorry we changed it to Jones. Don't you think it just flows off the tongue?" Alex questioned snarkily.

The guard seemed unphased, "I don't care what your name is, you three come with us."

Jack realized that the guard was being backed by six others carrying massive rifles.

"You obviously do care or you wouldn't have said anything." his dad replied, him and Jack's mom standing up as he did. They seemed to recognize that there wasn't anything else to do unless they wanted to get shot so all the Riders went willingly.

They walked down the same filthy hallway but the room they entered was not familiar.

The main difference was that in the center was a large, dark tank of water. There was a similar wooden chair with manacles set facing the tank and the person standing by the chair was extremely familiar.

"Welcome." Kurst said. "I thought you might enjoy a change of scenery."

"Who's your interior decorater because I definitely think we should have them do our house. What do you think honey?" His mom asked in a mockingly sweet voice.

His father answered in the same tone, "Sure, Sweetheart, but I want our dunk take to have some fish in it. Maybe make it look like a coral reef?"

Sarah smiled, "Sounds lovely." she said.

One of the guards that had escorted them gripped Jack by the arms and led him to the chair, chaining him in.

Kurst advanced on Alex and Sarah, pulling something silver from his back pocket. His smile almost made it seem like he was playing along but quick as a flash he grabbed Sarah's right arm and attached a handcuff to it. He then did the same to Alex, who seemed to be intrigued about what Kurst planned to do.

As always sarcastic he asked, "Is this some kind of extreme form of marriage counseling? Because if it is I think I'll pass. What about you honey?"

Jack's mom looked defiantly at Kurst before continuing their game in a sickeningly sweet tone, "No, I'd say we're more than fine sweetheart." She said, standing on tiptoes to plant a kiss on Alex's cheek.

Jack was unable to even work his deep frown to a neutral position at their calm banter. Kurst was also smiling, but in a way that made Jack's heart pound increasingly fast.

"Sorry, but this just makes it much easier to drown to people at once. It's real time saver." he said casually.

Jack was sure he was going to start hyperventilating and his pulse was becoming a flurry of random beats.

His father caught his eye, silently trying to calm him down.

His parents were led up the short steps to the dark pool of water and were walked across a short, retractable, walkway that was suspended above it. Some sort of pole was sticking high in the air next to the end of the walkway.

"Scorpia has gotten much more technologically advanced over the years. This is a new invention that works pretty spectacularly if I do say so myself."

"Good for you, let's give him a round of applause shall we?" His parents made a big show of attempting an awkward clap.

Kurst didn't respond, he only pushed them to the edge of the walkway so they were standing facing the pole.

Jack was just wondering about it's purpose when Kurst attached the handcuff chain to a clasp on top of the pole. His parents were standing on the walkway with their hands reached over their heads as Kurst walked back to the floor.

Once there, Kurst pressed a button on a remote pulled from his jacket pocket. The walkway began to retract, leaving his parents hanging in midair. Alex's ankles were submerged in the water but Sarah's feet didn't even reach.

Suddenly her feet began inching towards the water and Jack realized that the pole itself was moving, taking them into the water.

After about 30 seconds both adults were fully submerged in the water and Kurst pressed another button, making it stop.

The plastic containing the water was clear, giving Jack a full view of his parents underneath the water.

His father's body was tense but soon his mother began to thrash desperately, her body aching for air.

Not long after his dad began making jerky movements like a puppet on a string, he seemed to be attempting to stop himself from thrashing uncontrollably.

Jack was gripping the arm of the chair so tightly he thought his fingers would break.

"Stop it, let them up you psychotic bastard!" he screamed at Kurst who turned to smile cooly at him.

"Now Jackie, we wouldn't want your mother to you use that language would we?"

he said, his brutish smile widening.

Jack growled, "Well, since you're drowning her right now I don't think she'll mind me calling you an insane son of a bitch."

Jack glanced back at the tank and saw that, though his father was still making spastic movements, his mother was completely still.

"Let her up you #&*%$#^!"


	8. Chapter 8

Yah, I decided to do another chapter instead of study for my finals tomorrow! Oh well, anyway I'm not exactly sure where this came from because I hadn't planned it this way but I guess my pencil has a mind of it's own.

Thank you so much for all the reviews/alert/favorites it means a lot!

Warning: EXTREME FLUFFNESS! MAY CAUSE BARFING!

Disclaimer: What do I need to do to convince you I don't own Alex Rider? I'll submit to a polygraph!

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><p><strong>Sarah POV<strong>

Sarah moaned, tilting her head from side to side, and opened her eyes.

She immediately wished she hadn't.

The narrow metal hallway she was currently residing in was being slowly eaten away by bright orange flames.

Attempting not to panic, she took in a deep breath, which was also a mistake as it served only to fill her lungs with smoke.

Gasping, her eyes scoured the room, desperate for escape.

Spotting a door she got to her feet painstakingly slow and suddenly became hyperaware of the pain shooting through her right ankle. She examined it, taking in the freely flowing blood and the fact that it seemed swollen to twice it's normal size.

She didn't remember injuring it but assumed it must have been caused by one of the various pieces of debris crowding the hallway.

Ignoring it, she hobbled her way through the devastation and reached the large steel door.

She pushed at it but the door remained stoic, refusing to budge.

Frantically she grappled at the handle, beginning to cough as she did so.

Breathing became harder with every passing second and black spots attacked her vision.

Her knees buckled, no longer able to support her weight, and she lay on the ground staring at the door that was her only hope.

As though from a distance she heard a loud banging and she tried to call out, "Help!" but her voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

The noise was getting farther away and panic began to set in. She screamed "HELP!" as loudly as she could, feeling the harsh pain as the one word tore through her chest.

She was awarded by the beautiful sound of hurrying footsteps.

There was a loud thumping outside and the door was thrown open to reveal a tall, bulky figure.

It hurried toward her and the ground tilted as she was lifted into the air.

Some sort of mask was hurriedly placed over her face as she was carried through the blazing building.

Sarah felt her eyes fluttering, wanting to close, but she forced them open as she was brought into the afternoon sun.

Her savior walked her over to a gurney attended by a paramedic.

She was laid down gently and given an oxygen mask, her feeling of needing to faint leaving her as she gulped the air gratefully.

As he was examining her the paramedic spoke to the bulky figure, who she realized was so due to extensive firefighting gear, "They got everyone else out, you don't have to go back in."

At this the figure unstrapped it's oxygen mask and took of it's helmet, Sarah looking on, curious to see the face of her rescuer.

Beneath the equipment came a tanned, chiseled face with soft yet serious chocolate brown eyes, framed by a mop of dirty blonde hair.

Sarah's first thought was, "Wow, he's hot."

He spoke to the paramedic, "Thanks mate, I'll go clock in." he said with a wink and a British accent that made Sarah think, "And he just got hotter."

"I'll come back and check on her after." he continued and walked away.

The paramedic spoke to her and she realized she'd been staring in the direction of the british man long after he was out of sight. She shook her head and turned back to the paramedic who had followed her stare, shaking his head exasperatedly.

"That kid has the biggest hero complex I've ever seen."

Sarah waited for him to continue, curious for more information, but the man just went back to addressing her injuries.

After breathing through the oxygen mask for about 10 minutes Sarah was ready to leave.

The paramedic had left a few minutes ago and Sarah casually looked around to check that no one was paying her any attention.

Technically she wasn't even supposed to be here, so hopefully no one would notice her leaving.

She got off the gurney and began to walk away confidently, pretending she was supposed to be here and trying to hid her painful limp at the same time.

No one questioned her as she made her way past the busy parking lot to the small dirt clearing surrounded by dense forest , where she'd hidden her car.

She reached her small, silver toyota and dug in her pocket for her keys.

"Going somewhere?" came a deep, accented voice behind her.

She spun around to see her blonde rescuer, casually leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Truly examining him she guessed he was about 20, the top of his suit was rolled down to reveal a plain white t-shirt clinging to his toned body.

He was wearing a very mischievous grin on his face as he brandished his hand, gripping what she saw were her keys and jingling them together, saying, "You might be needing these."

She limped up to him, attempting to grab them, but he held them above her head.

Sarah cursed her short stature, but he was tall enough that it probably wouldn't have made much difference had she any more height.

She breathed in frustratedly but only managed to capture his scent which was smoky yet sweet at the same time, like burnt candy.

Sarah took a step back. She didn't even know his name and she was already smelling him, What was wrong with her?

Trying to keep her voice calm yet authoritative she said, "Give me the keys." and held her hand out to receive them.

He looked amused, "And why would I do that? So you, who technically should be arrested for trespassing on private property, can get into a car accident because you're trying to drive with an ankle that looks like it's been mauled by a bear?"

She was starting to get slightly annoyed, "Are you going to turn me in? Because if so get it over with already." she demanded.

His grin widened, "Nah, I'm cool with you breaking in. I'm pretty sure they're doing illegal animal testing if all the adorable bunnies I found are anything to go by."

All of her former irritation dispersed and a slow smile crept onto her face, "Really?"

He just smiled back, causing her heart to skitter in her chest.

"Well, let's go." he said abruptly, beginning to walk to her car.

She started, "Wait, what's your name?"

He turned back around and stuck out his hand, "I'm Alex Rider. Nice to meet you Sarah Hart."

She shook it and followed him to the car, sitting in the passengers seat.

"Wait, how do you know my name?" she asked.

He just laughed and started the ignition, driving her home.

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><p>"<strong>Sarah?Can you hear me? Sarah?"<strong>

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><p>Sarah walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen of their small apartment.<p>

Her boyfriend of over a year was sitting on a stool at the counter, leisurely flipping through the mail.

She softly walked up behind him and leaned in, loosely wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey Blondie, what are you doing?"

He turned around, head level with hers and said, 'Not much, until now."

With that he proceeded to reel her in by her waist, her arms still wrapped around his neck, and kissed her softly. She intwined her fingers in his soft blonde hair, pulling him closer.

He broke the kiss and asked, slightly out of breath with his hair sticking at odd angles, "You almost ready to go?"

She smiled but eyed him suspiciously, "Go where?"

"It's a surprise."

She gave him a penetrating stare but he continued to smile innocently so she walked back up the stairs and changed into jeans and a cottony blouse. She walked into their small bathroom to wash up, applied light touches of makeup, and pulled her hair into a messy bun.

She went back downstairs to find Alex standing by the door in khaki shorts and a dark green t-shirt, holding his keys in hand.

"Ok, let's go." he said excitedly, slipping his large, warm hand in her's and nearly dragging her out the door.

She wondered where they were going, he seemed a bit...nervous.

The car ride was comfortable, the midday sun streaming through the windows, the breeze tugging at her dark hair.

They drove far out of the city, radio blasting. Sometimes Sarah would just listen as Alex's beautiful tenor swept through the air.

The pavement turned to gravel and road signs became magnificently blooming forests.

They stopped in a makeshift parking lot and Alex walked around the back of the car, opening the trunk and revealing a wicker picnic basket.

She smiled gleefully, "Ooh, did you know I've never been on a picnic before?" she asked.

He grinned at the expression on her face, so like a small child on christmas morning. "Well, neither have I so I guess we'll have to wing it."

With one hand carrying the basket he used the other to reach for hers and led her down one of the dirt paths.

They walked on, chatting amiably, her leaning into his side as they went.

They finally crossed a small wooden bridge passing over a tranquil stream.

There was a small lawn of grass before the trees started up again and Sarah exclaimed, "It's perfect, let's sit here!"

Alex smiled at her amusedly, "Who am I to disagree?" and made his way over, pulling a blanket from the basket, laying it out on the grass and plopping down.

Before she could sit also he lightly tugged her arm, pulling her onto his lap.

She made a disgruntled "mmph." of surprise and lightly smacked the back of his head, "Prat."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? Maybe it'll dig deeper if I insult you in your native language." she explained cheekily.

This caused him to laugh out loud and wrap an arm around her waist. "Well, then can you, like, passe me, like, some food, puhlease?" he said in a high pitched imitation of a teenaged girl.

She looked affronted, "Hey, I do not talk like that!"

"Sure you don't." he said in a disbelieving tone. "OMG, did you hear what Bethany did last week? Totally not co-" he continued until Sarah, wanting him to shut up, crushed her lips over his.

When they finally pulled away Alex said, "Hmm... maybe I should make fun of you more often."

She shook her head exasperatedly and went to open the picnic basket.

"Pull that one out first." Alex instructed,pointing at a plain cardboard box on top.

She did as he said and opened it, only to find another, slightly smaller brown box.

Shooting him a look she opened that one to yet again find a brown box, "Alex." she said exasperatedly. He held up his hands in surrender, "One more, I swear."

She sighed and opened the box to find another box.

Yet this box was different, it was small and velvet with a tiny golden hinge.

Sarah stared at it wide eyed, and turned to stare at Alex who had gotten onto one knee, "Sarah Hart, will you do me the honor of marrying me?" he asked, his mischievous eyes serious.

Sarah screeched loudly and flung herself at him, accidentally throwing them both to the ground.

"Oops."

Alex just laughed underneath her, "I'll take that as a yes."

She grinned, "You can take that as a hell yes."

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><p>"<strong>Mom, mom?Please wake up." said the young voice, close to tears.<strong>

* * *

><p>Sarah gave a tired smile as she walked through the door, exhausted but happy to finally be home.<p>

The house was mostly dark, as it was almost 12 at night, but the unmistakable glare and sounds of the TV came from the other room.

Sarah tore off her high heels and dumped them by the door mat, the same with her bags.

She'd been sent to Washington DC for two weeks to cover some political scandal and at this point she was ready to collapse to the floor and sleep there.

She'd been held up at the airport for over 8 hours and had been close to murdering some of the airport employees. Thankfully,she refrained and eventually got a plane home.

She slowly walked toward the family room, which homed the still playing TV, intent on turning it off.

As she walked around the back of the couch she was greeted by a sight that made her heart want to melt into a gooey puddle on the floor.

Alex and two year old Jack were fast asleep. Alex was stretched out on his back, his feet hanging over the edge of the couch, and lying face down on his chest, thumb securely in mouth, was Jack.

There resemblance was striking, their dirty blonde hair was the same exact shade, mussed up the from sleep framing the naturally tan skin. The two year old's face structure was similar to Alex's and Sarah was sure that when he was older it would be just as defined.

Jack's body was moving up and down with Alex's slow breathing. His blue eyes, one of his few features inherited from her, opened and stared right at her.

"Mommy?" he asked softly.

She smiled at him, "Hi Jackie, want to come to bed with mommy? Daddy's back is going to be all sore in the morning."

"Ok." he said with an adorable smile, reaching his arms out for her to pick him up.

She settled him on her hip, gave a kiss to her still sleeping husband and walked up the stairs.

Jack nestled his hands in her hair and mumbled, "miss'd you mommy." in her ear.

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><p>"<strong>Mom?" came the repeated question from a voice that was all to familiar.<strong>

**Sarah opened her eyes, "I missed you too, Jackie."**

* * *

><p><strong>As always, PLEASE REVIEW! And if it was too confusing, the stuff in bold is people talking to her while she's unconscious... SO REVIEW!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow, I'm updating! I know, it's AMAZING! I'm really sorry but I had Finals and now I have a foreign exchange student staying for a month so my time has been limited. **

**Thank you _32-Star, ReillyScarecrowRocks, ALBANY, hollyblue2, MonssterUnderYourBed and Se7enFreaker_ for reviewing and everyone who alerted/favorited. **

**A special thanks to _fanfictionaddict1_ who always manages to guilt me into getting my butt in gear and posting a new chapter.**

**Warning: Some bad language (really only one word) and HUGE Scorpia Rising spoilers.**

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><p><em>"I missed you too, Jackie."<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

"Mom?" Jack questioned hesitantly, afraid no answer would come.

"Jackie." She repeated, lifting her hand to lightly stroke his face.

"Mom! Thank God!" he exclaimed while burying her in a hug.

"I really don't think God has anything to do with it Jack." Came his father's familiar and relieved-sounding voice from behind him.

Before Jack could retort he was interrupted by the voice of their captor, "You're quite right Mr. Rider," he said in his thick accent. "In here I am the only controlling power and I think it's time we had a nice long, chat."

"I'm not one for long conversations so I think I'll have to pass on what I'm sure would have otherwise been a very intellectually engaging chat," Jack's father answered sarcastically.

Kurst obviously did not deem this worthy of an answer as he grabbed Alex's arm and forcefully pulled him away from his wife. Alex shot them a glance before complying and was led to a pair of rusted handcuffs hanging from the ceiling.

"Well, you obviously need more of a personal touch Mr. Rider and I'm the one to give it to you."

Despite the fact that he was now being held off the floor by his own arms Alex managed to smirk, "Sorry but I already have a wife, better luck next time."

Jack could only watch in awe as his father angered his torturer further.

Kurst sneered at Alex and walked towards a familiar wooden table, containing all of the sharp objects Jack would rather not think about.

Jack winced as he picked up a pointed silver rod and heated the end with a blowtorch until the rod radiated its own light.

He looked down at his mother who was still dripping wet and attempting to sit up.

Jack reached down to help her and saw her eyes grow wide at Kurst's actions, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she growled, her voice hoarse and Jack remembered that this would be her first time watching his dad get tortured.

Personally Jack just wanted to curl up in a corner with his eyes shut, not having to see the blank look on his father's face as he was burnt or hear the slow breaths that were his only sign of feeling pain.

He looked around the room, searching for anything that would help him save his dad from this fate.

Seemingly reading Jack's mind Kurst called to the guards posted outside the room, "Restrain these two, we don't want to have any accidents."

"Excuse me but we are perfectly well potty trained. Could the same be said for you?" Came his mom's retort as she was dragged into a chair and strapped in.

Alex snorted loudly, "By the looks of him, I'd say no."

For Jack their sarcasm had a calming affect; his parents weren't going to be intimidated so why should he?

He glared defiantly at Kurst as he too was strapped into his chair.

"Well, you are all very entertaining but its now time for the real show to begin." Kurst said in a tone that made Jack want to punch him. Well, even more than he did before anyway.

He held up the still burning rod and made a show of walking around Alex, leaving a distinct mark wherever it touched the skin. He came to face Alex again, giving Jack and Sarah a view of their side profiles.

Kurst reached for the rod and pushed it into a specific spot on Alex's chest, right above the heart.

Alex couldn't contain his pained gasp and Kurst smiled, looking at the small stream of blood flowing from the wound.

Jack tore his eyes away and looked at his mother who seemed ready to burst, "Get off him you sick, perverted, bastard!" she screeched.

Kurst's only reaction was to widen his smile, with one last malevolent dig he pulled the bloody instrument from Alex's chest. He looked at him thoughtfully, "Hmm, still no scream. I'm starting to think a different type of torture may be more effective."

Alex just glared at him, panting heavily and seeming unable to speak.

"You," he said, pointing at one of the blank-faced guards. "Go get the materials for our next exercise."

His dad, finally finding his voice, remarked, "Wow, I didn't even think you knew the word exercise." He said, staring pointedly at the flab around Kurst's midsection. "You might want to think about combining that with a diet. What are your thoughts on Nutrisystem?"

Kurst walked away from Alex and towards Jack, pulling out his fist at an alarming speed and whamming him in the nose.

Jack gasped in shock at the sudden pain as his nose made a sickening crunch.

"Unless you want me to continue this I would keep your mouth shut."

The room was silent but Jack could almost feel the heat radiating from the glares of his parents.

Jack tried not to swallow as he felt blood drip over his lips. A dull ache seemed to have set in not only in his nose but head also.

He felt Kurst walk away and heard his mom ask if he was all right.

"Yeah mom, its okay. I'm fine."

He looked over at Kurst to glare and saw that the materials Kurst had asked for were being wheeled in.

Jack stared at him, confused, as a guard wheeled in a TV set complete with a DVD player. What? Were they going to torture them by forcing them to watch educational films?

Jack glanced over at his dad whose eyes were narrowed suspiciously, he could almost imagine the gears whirring in his brain as he attempted to understand Kursts' latest move.

Kurst himself was smiling jovially as he took a DVD from his pocket and slipped it in the player.

At first glance Jack thought it was himself standing on the screen with a serious expression and gun in hand. And then he looked closer and saw that the boy in the video was a couple years older, maybe 15, and his eyes were a deep brown not blue. Then it hit him, this was his dad, as a teenager, pulling a gun on some man!

He turned to stare at his father whose eyes were transfixed on the TV as though drawn by a magnetic pull.

Jack turned back to the screen as it changed to show a woman with bright red hair loosening a bar from a window with a small knife. She heaved herself up and through the window after sticking the loose metal bar in her belt. She snuck into a courtyard filled with cars and seeing a guard snuck back into a small kitchen. She then proceeded to put an egg in the microwave, which Jack knew from experience was a bad idea, and hid behind some boxes as it exploded. The guard came running at the sound and she hit him on the head with the metal bar, sending him into unconsciousness. She took this opportunity to run for the car and begin to drive away.

A loud bang that certainly did not come from the TV echoed throughout the compound just as the screen showed a burst of flames and debris raining from the car.

The guards ran from the room, towards the source of the noise and Kurst, standing near Alex, took out his gun and aimed it at Jack, "Don't-"

Alex grabbed onto his chains and pulled himself up swinging his legs, and knocking Kurst to the ground, but not before Kurst pulled the trigger.

Jack cried out as the bullet pierced his skin and then the world faded to black.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, a bit of a cliffhanger, I think. It was worth a shot. Anyway, please review! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but I'll try to update much faster. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**I'M BACK! I know, I'm awful for not updating. I've had this chapter started for REALLY long time, I just had no clue how to end. **

**I would like to thank the lovely people who reviewed my last chapter: _Fanfictionaddict1, Mara jade chase, Albany, MonssterUnderYourBed, Mainn, ReillyScarecrowRocks, and hollyblue2._ **

**You guys are awesome so keep it up! (and yes I admit that last chapter was more than 'kinda' a cliffhanger)**

**Disclaimer: Wow, what are we, 10 chapters into this story and you still can't figure out that I don't own Alex Rider? Just wow.**

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><p><strong><span>Alex POV<span>! (I know it's amazing but please try to contain your excitement, ;))  
><strong>

Alex tore his gaze from Kurst to focus on Jack as he heard Sarah scream.

He was unresponsive, clearly unconscious, and Sarah was becoming frantic, attempting to maneuver her chair closer to his.

Alex had never felt more anger and crushing despair than when he looked at the blood seeping from his son's open bullet wound, making him feel as if he was 15 again and entranced by a burnt car left in the desert.

His entire self was demanding to be near Jack and the rational part of his brain saw the way to make it happen.

Using both feet he extracted the keys from Kurst's pocket. Then, keys dangling between his shoes, he brought his feet up and deposited them in his hand.

He unlocked the cuffs and dropped to the ground, barely making contact before sprinting to Jack.

Sarah was quiet, waiting for his assessment.

"He's alive." He said and she released a bit of breath. "But he's going to need medical attention soon."

That much was obvious from the bullet implanted in his body.

Finding the right key Alex released Jack and Sarah's manacles.

His wife knelt by their unmoving son, gently running her hand through his hair as Alex bound the wound with pieces of cloth ripped from Kurst's shirt.

On the exterior Alex was calm, showing none of the hurricane of inner turmoil raging inside him. Swiftly but gently he extracted Jack from the chair and into his arms.

"Grab his gun." He instructed Sarah, indicating Kurst with his head.

After he'd first told Sarah the secrets of his youth he'd taken her to the shooting range and taught her the basics; just in case. That slightly paranoid endeavor would pay off now.

"We have to find the K-unit."

He knew they were the cause of the earlier explosion, as he was the one who'd provided Ben with the small bomb before they were taken.

'Not checking my pockets' he thought scornfully, 'Scorpia's getting sloppy.'

Motioning for his wife to go first, Alex lightly walked out the door while trying not to jostle Jack.

He restrained himself from glancing down at the weight held in his arms, knowing that if he did he would exit mission mode to enter the panicking parent mindset.

He looked at Sarah who had the gun pointed fiercely in front of her; her glare of determination was so intense Alex was surprised the walls hadn't already burst into flames.

It seemed that most of the guards had been drawn to the explosion but he knew it was only a matter of time before the chaos settled down.

He'd given K-unit directions from what he remembered of the building schematics but things usually didn't go to plan; the luck of the devil worked both ways.

The faster they got out, the better.

Soon he just gave up; he couldn't help it.

He glanced down at Jack, telling himself he had to check on the bullet wound.

Jack's vivid blue eyes were squeezed shut, his tan skin had taken a pale pallor and his breathing could be described as ragged pants.

Alex had to force himself to breathe before whispering to him desperately, "C'mon Jack, you gotta hang on." To his son who made no indication that he'd heard.

They continued their stealthy walk down the long corridor and towards what they could only hope was freedom.

* * *

><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

_"Hey Jack, are you ready to go?" his dad asked, reaching out to hold his small hand._

_"Yes, yes,yes,yes,yes." He chattered excitedly, practically bouncing out of his small, red Velcro sneakers._

_His father chuckled, "Did you have candy or what?"_

_Jack stuck out his chin stubbornly, an adorable fierceness in his expression, "Nuh-uh, mommy says no candy before lunch."_

_Grinning, his father scooped him from the floor and placed him at his hip. "And we all know that you're a good boy who always listens to mommy, right?" he said with a look that attempted to be stern but only managed amused. _

_Jack wrapped his petite arms around his dad's neck and looked down bashfully, not yet ready to divulge the fact that he currently had two pixi sticks and a small package of Swedish fish in his pocket; the last remnants of his Halloween stash. _

_"Mmhmm." His father sounded skeptically._

_He reached into Jack's pocket, pulled out a few Swedish fish, plopped them in his mouth and winked. "I won't tell if you won't." _

_Jack giggled and nodded at his 'silly daddy' as they walked out the door. _

_A small playground was in easy walking distance of their home, filled with rambunctious neighborhood children, their parents and hyper puppies. _

_Jack's father put him down and he immediately raced to the monkey bars, pouting cutely when he was unable to reach them. _

_"Daddy help me!" he called, reaching his arms above his head as though they'd magically stretch the remaining length._

_His father, having caught up with him said, "Ok, buddy." And picked him up by his armpits. _

_Jack whopped with glee at his newfound height, seemingly forgetting to actually take hold of the bar._

_His dad laughed, but sounded oddly desperate as he said,_ "C'mon Jack, you gotta hang on."

* * *

><p><strong>Alex POV<strong>

"In here." Alex whispered to Sarah after they had traveled a good distance from their torture chamber and tormentor.

Footsteps resounded in the hallway, quickly coming towards them.

Alex and Sarah quietly slipped into a room at the end of the hallway, which Alex knew to be currently occupied.

"What the bloody hell happened to him?" came a gruff question, slightly to loud for Alex's liking.

"Shut up!" he ordered, crouching down and settling Jack in his lap as he did so. He groaned slightly and Alex felt relieved that Jack was at least slightly responsive.

The heavy footsteps slowly passed by the door, obviously on the alert for any sign of trouble.

Alex almost smiled, he was practically trouble personified and in about 30 seconds Kurst would have a very nice wake up call, from which he would probably never wake up.

A deafening blast, similar to its predecessor, shook the building.

Four pairs of eyes turned to stare at him, Sarah's exempt as she was busy staring at the blood beginning to seep through Jacks makeshift wrappings.

The footsteps ran away, towards the second explosion.

Eagle attempted to make his way to the door but Alex stopped him. "Wait." He said, and as he thought more sets of footsteps ran past about 20 seconds later.

He nodded, "Now go."

Eagle cautiously opened the door and stuck his head out, then motioned that it was all clear.

The odd group ghosted their way down the hallway, but to Alex the four men could not have been louder.

'Don't they do stealth training in the SAS?' Alex thought exasperatedly as he listened to Eagle's particularly loud footsteps.

Most of the guards had gone to the scene of the explosion and the group quietly but effectively disabled those who remained, Alex getting to execute a perfect roundhouse kick to the temple of one who collapsed instantly.

He frequently glanced down at Jack, not liking that the blood had escaped the barrier of cloth.

He guided them down the last remaining hallway to the exit, only to be stopped short by a menacing row of guns held by grim faced guards who were most likely not happy about the fact that hed just blown up their leader.

They all froze, examining the situation.

"Well, crap." His wife interjected into the tense silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

CRACK! _Was the sound that interrupted the tranquil summer afternoon. _

_"Woops." He said as the ball he'd been attempting to get into the goal bounced of the metal goal post. _

_He sighed and went to retrieve the errant soccer ball before flopping down on his back in the soft grass. _

_The sun was beating down heavily making him sweat but its warmth was still welcome. _

_"Hey Jack, are you ready for a rematch? Or is being whooped by your dad not 'in' these days?" called a male voice from behind him. _

_Jack bolted upright, any previous exhaustion disappearing, "Yeah right old man, you're going down." He replied confidently, leaping to his feet and turning to face his father. _

_"Wow, old man. That hurts, you know your mother's about my age and I don't think she'd take kindly to being called 'old women'. You could always try and see what happens." His father replied, grinning, brown eyes alight. _

_Jack gulped audibly, his mother was most definitely not someone to cross, but fired back, "Stop trying to stall your defeat." _

_His father shook his head, "I don't know, I'm definitely seeing victory in my future." He said. And with that he grabbed the soccer ball from the unsuspecting Jack's hands and punted it into the goal. _

_"Hey!" Jack cried, "That doesn't count!" _

_ Thus began a fierce battle that somehow evolved into a wrestling match. _

_Hearing the commotion Sarah raced outside only to slip and fall on her butt, the chicken she'd been preparing for dinner propelling into the dirt. _

_She looked at her meticulously prepared meal and sighed, _"Well, crap."

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><p><strong>Well tell me what you think, reviews make my day! I know I didn't tell you where Jack got shot but I figured I'd let you suffer a little while longer:) I'm hoping to update again this week because after that I'm going to Spain for two weeks. <strong>

**P.S. Here's a lovely little equation : More reviews= faster chapter (but no pressure ;))**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, excuses time. I feel really awful about not updating for so long but between Spain (which is AMAZING), lovely Ms. Hurricane Irene, and school starting my writing time has been slim. **

**Thank you to ALBANY, Mara jade chase, Se7enFreaker,Innocentkitsune444,hollyblue2, PeppermintToothpaste,ReillyScarecrowRocks and Fanfictionaddict1 for all your reviews they pretty much make my day and always inspire me to keep writing!**

**Warning: Pure Sarah Awesomeness**

**Disclaimer: Dear Lord please help me get through these people's thick skulls that I DON'T OWN ALEX RIDER! Haha just kidding. Well, not about the last part.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Sarah POV<strong>

"Put down your weapons." Said a tall, solidly built man in the middle of the blockade, obviously the leader.

Reluctantly, Sarah and the K unit placed their weapons at their feet.

_So close_, Sarah thought despairingly, sending an anxious look at Alex.

He had a calculating look on his handsome face as though running through every possible scenario. She hoped there was one in which they all managed to get out of here alive.

He turned his head to meet her gaze, indicating with his eyes that she should cause a distraction.

Trusting that he had a plan, she lightly shoved Snake, who'd been standing in front of her, to the side and stepped forward a bit.

"How rude!" she proclaimed loudly, causing everyone, except Alex, to look at her with various expressions of confusion.

"First you kidnap us for no good reason, I mean I'd barely call what I was doing trespassing, more like visiting without permission, and then you throw us in a cell and leave us there for days!"

"And no offense guys," she continued with a pointed look at K unit. "But you kinda reek."

She turned her focus back to the dumbfounded guards, "Also, who said you were allowed to torture us? When I get out of here I'm gonna sue all your asses!" She ranted, sure she sounded more then a little crazy but hey, that was the point.

She tried not to look at Alex, only discreetly glancing his way once to see him supporting their son with the top of one of his arms as he reached into his shirt, most likely to pull out some hidden weapon.

She continued babbling, though listening alertly to everything around her.

"I'm an American citizen, I know my rights! So I look forward to seeing you in court bucko, yes you!" she said, pointing an accusatory finger at one of the men who was looking at her as though she were speaking a language yet to be invented.

None of the men blocking the door had spoken yet, it seemed as though they were unused to having prisoners speak to them like that, and they probably were. _They must not meet many Americans_, Sarah thought sarcastically.

"And you bet that I'm gonna have a kick ass lawyer-"

She had heard a small pop in the middle of her sentence but didn't stop talking until a man by the door fell forward, seemingly hit with a bullet from behind.

Instinctively the men turned around and, obviously spotting a new threat, began to fire.

One man seemed to remember the hostiles behind him and quickly turned around, but not fast enough as in the chaos K unit had retrieved their guns.

Wolf shot him through the chest and the others got to work incapacitating the rest.

Someone had obviously called for backup as Sarah could hear heavy footsteps in the hallway behind her.

_I guess it's now or never_ she thought as she sprinted forward, leaping over the still-living bodies of the guards who weakly tried to shoot her, aim flying wide.

Her husband was running beside her, keeping his body slightly hunched so as to protect the unconscious Jack from stray bullets.

K unit brought up the rear, shooting behind them at the enemy advancing down the hall.

They had passed through the shattered door to the outdoors, whoever the guards had been firing at were not firing now, as she squinted to make out a large group of people less then 50 feet away. Sarah hoped it was because they didn't want to hit them.

_The enemy of my enemy is my friend _she thought, snorting lightly.

As she approached the group of about 20 people she saw that it was a dark haired woman dressed in a plain grey suit, standing out dramatically against the others military fatigue, who seemed to be in charge.

They halted in front of the woman and Alex acknowledged her in a cold voice that he certainly did not use with Sarah or Jack.

"Mrs. Jones."

Even though she'd inevitably saved them, and that Sarah had been the one to call her, Sarah couldn't help a feeling of disgust rising in her.

This was one of the people who'd used Alex, even though she hadn't agreed with it, Sarah still held her responsible for ignoring what could be classified as child abuse.

"Took you long enough," she interjected before the woman could respond, not caring if she sounded rude.

Mrs. Jones opened her mouth to speak but Sarah cut her off yet again.

"Well, never mind now. Just get my son some freaking medical attention, or are you too blind to see the blood gushing from his chest!"

Mrs. Jones didn't bother trying to reply and instead motioned to a soldier, most likely a medic, indicating Jack.

Sarah folded her arms but kept quiet, Mrs. Jones turned her attention to Alex.

"That was quite a shot, making it seem as though the man was hit from behind. I assume you had it ricochet off the bullet proof walls to make it appear so?"

Alex gave a terse nod, focusing on the medic who had taken Jack from his arms and was currently applying pressure and bandages to the wound. Even with that it was obvious Jack needed a hospital, and fast.

Mrs. Jones gave what was probably the closest thing she'd ever managed to a proud smile.

"Excellent."

Alex tore his gaze from their son and gave Mrs. Jones a haunted look Sarah wished never had to appear on his face.

"Yeah, some things tend to stick with you."

And they all knew it wasn't just the shooting he was talking about but the memories.

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><p><strong>Sorry if it sucked, review anyway!Also sorry if any Americans were offended in the writing of this chapter. Personally, I'm an American and I find people like that funny. Review!<strong>

**P.S. Next chapter we should have some more Jack dream sequences, if there's any specific childhood scenes you want tell me :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Woohoo new chapter! Don't worry it's longer then the other, I felt pretty inspired today... to not listen to whatever my science teacher was saying and write this instead!**

**Thank you Fanfictionaddict1(for using the word 'epic' haha), Mara jade chase,hollyblue2, ALBANY, for reviewing! **

**Special thanks to ReillyScarecrowRocks for the idea for the first half of the chapter!**

**Warning: Extreme fluffiness, highly toxic.**

**Disclaimer: Sigh, I just got the rights to Alex Rider. Whatever am I going to do with all this money?**

**Seriously? Just no.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

_Jack tiptoed through the hallway, clutching a fuzzy blue blanket tightly in his small hand._

_It was dark except for the moonlight threading its way through the windows and making ominous shadows on the walls._

_Jack whimpered and sped up, almost tripping over the long blanket._

_His frightful journey ended as he reached the door at the end of the hallway._

_Quietly as he could he stretched up his arm and grasped the doorknob, turning it slowly and sticking his head through the small opening._

_"Daddy?" he whispered softly, as though afraid speaking any louder would awaken all the creepy spirits and monsters he was convinced were residing in the house._

_The only response he received was the sound of oddly panicked breathing._

_He cautiously opened the door and stepped inside._

_As his mom was currently on a business trip only one rather large, to Jack, figure was sprawled across the bed._

_One of his father's legs was sticking out of the tangled mess of sheets haphazardly covering the rest of his body. He rolled over onto his side, messing the sheets further as they clung to his body._

_Jack walked over to the side of the bed, staring at his father's troubled face._

_He was about to climb up when his father mumbled, "No, no, go away."_

_Hurt tears filling his eyes, Jack quickly backed away until he heard his father mutter, "Jack."_

_Wounded feelings gone, Jack clambered onto the bed, lying in the small space between his father and the edge of the mattress._

_He looked into the face of his father who was still speaking gibberish to himself in a pained whisper._

_Jack moved his hand so it wrapped around him instead of impeding Jack's small space, and curled into his chest._

_He gripped his father's old grey T-shirt and closed his eyes, feeling completely safe from the creepy crawlers in his father's loose embrace._

_Suddenly his dad jerked to the side, violently shaking his head._

_"No, no, no, come back. Don't leave me." He began repeating._

_Jack began to panic, "Daddy, daddy, wake up."_

_He began shaking his father's shoulders desperately._

_"Daddy please, I'm not gonna leave. I promise, I promise."_

_Finally, his father's eyes flew open, his breathing still harsh._

_Noticing Jack sitting on top of him, tears streaming down his face, his eyes widened._

_He sat upright and hugged the sniffling child tightly to his chest._

_"Oh Jackie I'm sorry. Are you okay?"_

_Jack nodded and, grabbing his father's hand, he traced the lines on his palm and intertwined their fingers, amazed at how much larger his father's were._

_As he continued to grip his hand he felt an odd tug on his conscience and he blinked. _

_The scene before him was very different, a loud whirring noise filled his ears and a sturdy, rounded ceiling filled his view._

_The warmth in his hand remained the same._

_It was fleeting as he was once again returned to the dark bedroom._

_He looked up at his father. "I'm never gonna leave you. Pinky promise." He stated, holding out the pinky on his free hand._

_His father smiled and did the same, "I know."_

* * *

><p><strong>BeepBeepBeep<strong>

_Jack groaned and turned over scowling at the alarm clock that read 5:30._

_He bolted upright._

_How could he have forgotten?_

_It was Christmas!_

_Throwing off the covers the now wide-awake eight year old bolted down the hallway and burst through the door of his parent's bedroom._

_Shamelessly jumping in between his two sleeping parents he began to shake their shoulders, yelling loudly, "Wake up!"_

_His dad moved a bit and grumbled, "It should really be illegal to be that hyper this early."_

_Jack's mom sat up and stretched like a cat before smacking the back of his head._

_"Shut it mister, if I have to get up you do to."_

_His father turned his head so as to speak better. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one with a crazy kid jumping up and down on your back. Do I look like a trampoline Jack?"_

_Nonetheless he managed to sit up._

_"Okay, I'm up. You happy you crazy hooligan?" he asked, ruffling Jack's hair._

_Jack's response was to stick his tongue out at him and grab hold of his hand, attempting to single-handedly pull his dad out of bed._

_They managed to make it downstairs without incident, such as the house exploding from all the pent up energy inside Jack, and Jack began opening his presents._

_Sarah sat down on the couch, watching him open his brand-new gadgets with a bright smile on her face, while Alex brewed coffee in the kitchen._

_The morning passed by in a firestorm of presents, excitement and bacon._

_Soon they were piling into the car, Jack taking a few new toys, and heading into the city._

_They pulled up to a large townhouse and made their way to the large red door._

_Jack's father rung the doorbell and the sound of running footsteps followed immediately after._

_A young boy with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, seeming to be about 6 flung the door open, a girl a couple years older sporting long auburn hair and the same bright eyes stood behind him._

_"Mom! Jack, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Alex are here!" he yelled loudly, pulling Jack inside._

_A woman around his parent's age walked calmly down the hall, scowling lightly at her son._

_"Michael, quiet down you'll annoy the neighbors."_

_She walked forward to embrace Sarah and Alex._

_"Good to see you Sabina." Alex said, giving her a light peck on the cheek._

_She rolled her eyes, "Yeah its been so long. I saw you last week."_

_Alex smiled and replied dramatically, "I know but it felt like forever."_

_She laughed and smacked him upside the head. Turning to her daughter she said, "Alyssa, go tell your dad and grandparents they're here."_

_Sure she said, sprinting ahead of the group, leaving them to chat idly as they removed their coats and shoes._

_Afternoon turned to evening as laughter filled the house, the adults told funny stories as they reminisced about their own childhoods, causing Michael to promptly fall asleep in his place on the floor, head resting comfortably on a pillow._

_However Jack and Alyssa were still listening, adding their two cents wherever they wanted and reveling in the warmth and soft glow emanating from the fire._

_For Jack this was the best part of the day, even better than all of the gifts he received this morning._

_This was one of the only times Jack every heard his dad talk about his childhood._

_Sometimes Jack was inclined to think that his father just sprung into existence at the age of 15 because he had no memories before then._

_Really he knew that his father just didn't share them._

_Jack stood up, figuring he should probably give his father his present before he too succumbed to a deep, peaceful sleep._

_Pretending he had to go to the bathroom he left the room and made his way to where it was hidden, inside his coat._

_He retrieved the item and, hearing a noise, ventured into the kitchen._

_His dad was bent over, searching for something in the fridge; he turned around when he heard Jack enter._

_Hey Jack, "what'cha got there?" he questioned, pulling out a water, opening it, and taking a swig._

_"Your present." Jack answered, shyly offering it._

_His father smiled softly, "You didn't have to get me anything Jack."_

_"I know, I wanted to. Now open it." Jack ordered._

_His dad laughed, "You sound just like your mother."_

_He began ripping the paper, revealing a simple, green wooden frame._

_It held a picture taken that year at the park by a helpful mother. Jack was standing in between his parents, smiling widely. His father's arms were wrapped around him and his mother had one hand on Jack's arm as leverage as she stood on her tiptoes and made bunny ears behind his father's head. They all looked blissfully happy, carefree._

_"Merry Christmas, Dad."_

_The reply of, "Merry Christmas, Jack."_ **Was faint as Jack was brought into the harsh, white light. **

**His dad, sitting in a chair to his right asked confusedly, "What?"**

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><p><strong>Like it? Despise it with a passion? Well, tell me anyway. As in, REVIEW! <strong>

**P.S. if you didn't know the bolded words are things that are happening out of the dream too.  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Aww, last chapter (unless there's an epilogue, hint hint: review!) **

**Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted or even just read this story, the response from you guys was amazing and really kept me writing!**

**Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter: ReillyScarecrowRocks, hollyblue2, Minigiraffe, Fanfictionaddict1, and Mara jade chase :)**

**Disclaimer: Let's just put it this way: If you think that I, a 16 year old American girl, own Alex Rider you should probably be chucked in the loony bin.**

**P.S. If you want me to right another story please vote for which one on my profile. I have too many ideas!**

**P.S.S. And if you think I just suck as an author, 1. Just don't vote and 2. Why are you reading this story?**

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><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

His father's face looked concerned and very confused.

Well, considering Jack had just wished him a merry Christmas in the middle of summer, that was to be expected.

Jack took in his surroundings.

The room was surprisingly large and unsurprisingly white, the only exception being the two uncomfortable-looking blue chairs positioned at his bedside.

His mother occupied one and was currently snoring lightly, her head resting on his father's shoulder. She had changed out of her old clothes, which had been filthy and wet from the captivity and torture, and into an, obviously borrowed, men's t-shirt and sweatpants.

It made her seem slightly vulnerable, her dark brown hair wandering in all directions, not the fiery, headstrong woman he was used to seeing.

His father had also changed into a similar outfit though, unlike Jack's mother, he did not appear to be swimming in fabrics.

"Dad?" Jack asked tentatively, wondering if he was still dreaming.

His father still looked concerned but very relieved, "I would ask how you're feeling but I think I already know." He grinned slightly.

All questions about how he arrived here slipped away as Jack pondered the comment. Maybe he was reading too much into it but he wanted to know.

"Dad," he said, his voice quiet and rasping. "Have you ever been shot?"

The grin slipped off his father's face and he looked as though he deciding was whether or not to answer.

Jack hoped he did, he was tired of all the lying and half-truths. Also, his father had never been able to finish his story, back when they'd all been prisoners.

Jack was very curious about how they had escaped, but right now this was more important.

Slowly his father nodded.

"Where?" Jack asked, having a slight hunch.

His father pointed to a spot on his chest directly above his heart.

A spot that Jack knew had an ugly scar disfiguring the skin; one hed been told was the result of a heart surgery.

How naive hed been. But really, when he'd been younger he had assumed that adults always told the truth. As he grew older he knew that wasn't true, but what reason did his father have to lie?

Obviously to hide something horrifying, something that made Jack want to hunt down the people who'd tried to take away his dad's, and essentially his, life.

But from the history between his father and their captors, Scorpia, Jack assumed that he'd been the one hunted down.

Another thought hit him suddenly, "Dad, what happened to Jack? The other one."

His father's face went stone cold.

"Scorpia happened." He said a bit sharply.

"She wasnt as lucky as we were, she died." His voice lost its edge and became soft.

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence before a small smile appeared on his father's face.

"She was fiery. Literally, she had bright red hair." He began, his eyes a million miles away.

"She was American, like your mom, and was supposed to be a law student but ended up as my unofficial older sister.

She would only cook food that took less then ten minutes and she never missed one of my football matches. You remind me of her a bit, witty and brave, and eventually paying for what I've done."

With this he turned his sorrowful gaze on Jack. "I'm so sorry Jack."

Jack swallowed, trying to picture the vibrant American who'd also been hurt just for loving his dad; they really were alike.

"No, dad its not your fault-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a screech of, "Back off bastard!" from his semi-conscious mother.

Jack and his dad both stared at her as her eyelids burst open.

She took one look at them and began to giggle in a slightly hysterical manner.

This did not help their wonderings about her sanity.

"I'm sorry,"she began, in between giggles. "But your expressions were exactly the same!" She continued to laugh and Jack and his father continued to watch her as though she'd fallen headfirst from the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down.

Jack turned to his dad with a solemn expression.

"Can I pretend she's not related to me?"

His father looked thoughtful, "Sorry, but I think they have her listed as your mother on your chart somewhere."

"Well, crap."

And that was enough for both Jack and his father to join his mother in her uncontrollable laughter.

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><p><strong>Wolf POV<strong>

He walked down the hallway of the brightly lit hospital, his unit beside him. They figured it would only be right to visit one more time before heading back to England.

Having also taken a bullet in the shoulder, Wolf knew how painful it was, especially for a 13-year-old kid.

They passed a nurse outside Jack's room and saw she had an amused smile on her face.

She pointed at it, "Go right on in, he's been awake for about ten minutes." Before continuing on her way.

Hearing the raucous laughter occurring inside Wolf wondered if the nurse had somehow let loose an entire canister of laughing gas inside the room, and he looked at his teammates a bit nervously.

Ben gave an exasperated sigh and pushed past him, "Come on."

The sight as they entered was confusing to say the least, laughter wasn't exactly the most abundant thing in a hospital and it seemed that this one room was giving the place all it would ever need.

Jack was propped up by pillows laughing hard enough that Wolf almost winced, that had to hurt.

His father, and Wolf still had a hard time thinking of Cub like that, was laughing in an identical way. Except for the eyes he and Jack looked so alike that Wolf almost wanted to accuse Cub of cloning.

Cub's wife, looking still distinctly mussed, was giggling so loudly Wolf thought his eardrums would shatter.

They all turned to the door as K unit shuffled in and for a moment it was silent as they stopped laughing.

Then, in perfect unison, even louder laughter broke through the stale hospital air.

Wolf tilted his head slightly, as though trying to fit together pieces of a puzzle.

He gave up.

Maybe crazy was hereditary.

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><p><strong>Well, this is the last chapter. How did you like the ending, I wasn't sure about it. If people want I will do an epilogue so review and leave your opinions about what timeplace etc. it should be in. Thank you for everyone who read and stuck with this story! Please REVIEW and don't forgot to look on my profile and vote for what story I should do next!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, no one kill me. I'm soooo sorry for making you wait for the epilogue but I was kinda stuck and I wanted to finish it right. (I hope you think I did)**

**I want to thank anyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted or even just bothered to read this story it means so much and it really kept me going. Also thank you so much for making this my first story to reach 100 reviews!  
><strong>

**To those of you who read my last chapter:islanzadi1995, Mara jade chase, ReillyScarecrowRocks, 28carrotcake, Albany, oceanlover4evr, and hollyblue2. I really can't thank you enough (though I'm ceratinly trying)**

**P.S. Please go on my profile and vote for the story you want me to write next. I want to get a good amount for deciding and so far I've only gotten 5. If you never want to see my awful writing on fanfiction again that's cool too. **

**Disclaimer: Aw how sad, my last time telling you that I DON't own Alex Rider. Not really actually it's been a huge pain and if you don't get that by this point you should go see a doctor.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Jack POV<strong>

It was hot. That kind of humid August day that made you dream of tall glasses of cool lemonade. The sun was blazing and he could feel it warming his skin, which was unusually pale for this time of year due to his seclusion.

His chest ached slightly but he ignored it.

Right now this was more important.

A hand clasped his good shoulder lightly.

"Are you sure Jack? We can always come back."

With a stubborn set of his jaw Jack vehemently shook his head.

"No, I wanna go today."

He heard his father's deep sigh behind him but no further objections were raised.

_How long had it been since his dad was last here? Or had he never come? _

A smaller hand ruffled his blonde hair.

"So stubborn," came his mother's voice, breaking through the thick air. "I wonder who he got that from?" She said with a pointed look at her husband.

"Hmhm…"

Came the agreement that made Jack sure his father wasn't really paying to close attention to the conversation.

Sure enough when he looked at him his dad's serious brown eyes seemed to be attempting to stare through the stratosphere.

Jack couldn't blame him.

As if sensing his stare his dad's eyes locked on his.

He gave Jack a small smile of reassurance that he saw right through.

Using his good arm he gave his dad a small shove forward.

"Come on let's go. I've got a very important appointment after this."

This caused his father to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, with your Xbox."

Jack mock glared at him. " That's irrelevant."

"True, because you're really going to spend the day with me watching sappy romance movies." Jack's mother cut in. "So move it mister."

Jack sent his father a look that clearly stated 'Help me' while his mother smirked.

"Ok, ok we're going. I know Jack's super excited to go home." Alex replied sending his son a look that said 'You're on your own.'

Jack glared at him, traitor.

Despite the joking conversation they each took a deep breath, steeling themselves to walk through the small iron gate.

The world around him seemed stilled.

The only sounds were the soft crunch of the gravel path beneath their feet.

Wind was nonexistent, the trees standing perfectly still. They surrounded the area, enclosing it from intruders or preventing the escape of the memories residing here.

This was a place life was scared to enter, and where it inevitably ended.

If it had not been for the slabs of gray stone planted in the earth this place would have been beautiful. All lush trees and flowers speckling the hillside, a perfect harmony of colors.

While the knowledge of its purpose did not lessen its beauty it did add an odd chill to those who entered.

Jack's dad stopped walking abruptly, cemented in front of a slightly weathered piece of stone.

**Jack Starbright**

**Beloved Daughter and Sister**

Jack took in as sharp intake of breath at the sight even though it came a no surprise; it was the reason they were here.

The anniversary of his namesake's death.

His father's face was heartbreaking as he sat before it reached down to lightly thumb over her name. "I miss you Jack." He whispered to the stone, as though her spirit was there even if her body wasn't.

"I'm so sorry."

Came the sound too soft to even be called a whisper.

Voice hoarse he turned to face Jack and his mother, trying to force a painful smile on his face.

He motioned for them to come closer, lightly placing his arm across Jack's shoulder and taking Sarah's hand in the other as they sat on either side of him.

He turned to gaze back at the stone.

"Hey Jack, I'd like to introduce you to my family."

They stayed like that, tearing up and laughing as Alex told them stories of his childhood with Jack.

Suddenly the graveyard became a place not to hold memories in but to let them out.

A place to remember, not forget.

A place to embrace the past, and live for the future.

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><p><strong>Well, what'd ya think? Kind of sad but it just felt right. Again thanks everyone and please vote in my poll!<strong>


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